Information Card

    Music has always been an important part of Chinese people's life. People enjoy listening to music at home and in concerts halls. As time goes by， music changes.

    Traditional music is part of our culture， so it often stays with us for a long time. Many of the traditional Chinese songs have been around for many years. Young musicians learn songs from older musicians and the music changes only very little. Modern Chinese music， which is loved by many young people， however， is mainly pop music. That means the songs will be popular for a short time and then replaced by new songs. Today's musicians write new songs every year and we hear new songs on the radio every day.

    Before radio and TV were invented， music could only be heard live — that is you had to go places where musicians gave performances. The best musicians were very busy， so it was difficult and often expensive to hear really good music. For most people， the best chance to hear good music was during a festival or at a wedding. Today， people hear music all the time. Radio and TV play songs every day and night and you can even hear music played on the street.

    One thing that hasn't changed very much is what the songs are about. Both modern and traditional Chinese songs are about love and life. Some songs tell stories about past and some are about the news or the future. All of the songs have something to do with what it means to be a human being.

    Music， traditional or modern， Chinese or international， seems to be a world language that everybody can understand and enjoy. Music changes and styles come and go， but nothing changes our love for good music.

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    I am Tony Smith. I am twelve. I am in No.101 Middle School. I'm in Class 2, Grade 7. My good friend is Jim Green. He is an English boy. He is twelve, too. He is in my class. He can speak good Chinese. Jane is in Class 2, too. I think she is a good girl. My Chinese teacher is Mr. Wang. His students like him. He is very cool.

    Everyone needs friends. We all like to feel close to someone. It is nice to have a friend to talk, laugh, and do things with. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}We don't always want people around. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} We will feel lonely if we never have a friend.

    Friends sometimes don't get on well. Most of the time they will make up and become friends again. When friends move away, we feel very sad. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Then we call them or write to them. We can even see them again someday. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}It's surprising to find out how much we like new people when we get to know them.

    There's more good news for people who have friends. They live longer than people who don't. Why? It could be that they are happier. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Or it could be just knowing that someone cares. If someone cares about you, you'll take better care of yourself.

    What will happen if you don't eat your breakfast? A short time age, A. test was given in the United States. People of different ages, from 12 to 83, were asked to have A. test. During the test, these people were given all kinds of breakfast and sometimes they got no breakfast at al. Scientists wanted to see how well their bodies worked when they had different kinds of breakfast.

    The results show that if a person eats a right breakfast, he or she will work better than if he or she has no, breakfast. If a student has fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen more carefully in class.

    The results also show that having no breakfast will not help you lose weight. This is because people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch. So they will gain (增加)weight instead of losing weight.

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